SARPY COUNTY, Neb. (KMTV)– In a new statement, the Historical Society said the executive director and other members resigned, which led to the end of the capital campaign.
- The Sarpy County Museum has been closed for three weeks, leaving donors with unanswered questions about their artifacts inside.
- The Sarpy County Historical Society says capital campaign funds were used to purchase a plot of land at 90th and 370
- Donors can email the Historical Society to reclaim loaned or donated artifacts, which will otherwise be placed in climate-controlled storage or used for traveling exhibits.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Three weeks after the Sarpy County Museum closed, donors are still searching for answers about their artifacts inside and what happened to money raised during a recent capital campaign intended to fund a new building in Papillion.
Jan Kirkpatrick, a Bellevue resident, loaned World War II-era photos of her father to the museum and now wants to know how to get them back.
"I trusted them, and a lot of other people trusted them with a lot of other things," Kirkpatrick said.
Kirkpatrick is one of several museum donors who have raised questions about their artifacts — and about the funds raised during a capital campaign that was supposed to go toward a new building in Papillion.
"Those are things people donated or loaned to the museum to make it what it was," Kirkpatrick said.
The board's president previously told KMTV the museum still had the funds from the campaign. But when KMTV attended the Sarpy County Historical Society's board meeting Tuesday, members said the money was used to buy a plot of land at 90th and 370.
In a new statement, the Historical Society said the executive director and other members resigned, which led to the end of the capital campaign. However, the statement did not answer how much money the capital campaign raised.
For donors like Kirkpatrick, they just want to know more about the fate of the artifacts inside.
"Confirmation that they are safe and that I can get them back and they just aren't going to be shoved in a box somewhere," Kirkpatrick said.
The Sarpy County Historical Society says people can email them to ask about reclaiming their donated or loaned property. The museum also told KMTV artifacts will be placed in climate-controlled storage, while others will be used for traveling exhibits.
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